Budget constraints and a desire to protect juvenile privacy have prevented Georgia from passing legislation that would require violent juvenile sex offenders to register publicly as such.
"The idea behind that was that the young don't need their records destroyed before they even get started," said Rep. Tom Weldon, R-Ringgold. "That is just such a difficult issue."
But to comply with federal guidelines, Georgia may have to pass such legislation -- or risk losing 10 percent of its Byrne Justice Assistance Grant funding, which gives states and local governments money to support crime control and prevention. For fiscal year 2009, the justice assistance grant allocated more than $14 million to agencies in Georgia.
Georgia and Tennessee are two of several states not yet in compliance with part of the federal law that requires registration for juvenile offenders 14 years or older who are in juvenile court on charges equal to or greater than aggravated sexual battery.
The requirements are part of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, also known as the Adam Walsh act.
Juveniles in both states convicted of such crimes in adult court are on the registry.
A lack of funding has stopped the state from meeting the juvenile guidelines, said John Bankhead, director of public affairs for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which oversees the sex offender registry.
Meeting the guidelines would require more personnel to bring the registry up to compliance, and the system would need to be changed to include juveniles, he said.
"Where are you going to get the money with the current budget?" Mr. Bankhead said. "The issues are indicative of the fact that only one state (Ohio) has complied so far and two Indian reservations."
Only Ohio is in complete compliance with all federal mandates on sex offenders. Other states are not in compliance with various elements of the federal laws.
In Tennessee
Last year, Tiffany Lightsey noticed her 5-year-old son acting out-of-character -- moody, whiny and fearful of attending school.
After a couple of months, he finally confessed he had been raped by the 15-year-old adopted son of his great-aunt while staying at her house. The teenager was found guilty of rape of a child, but Ms. Lightsey was unaware the teen wouldn't have to register as a convicted sex offender because he was convicted in juvenile court.
So the Crossville, Tenn., woman began advocating for a state law that would force the names of violent juvenile sex offenders to be made public on the registry.
"It's for the safety of our children and protecting our younger children," Ms. Lightsey said. "It's so the school board can be informed that a juvenile offender is in the school system and they know to keep a closer eye on them. It's for law enforcement. They should be kept an eye on just as much as an adult sex offender."
Rep. Debra Maggart, R-Crossville, is sponsoring legislation in the Tennessee House of Representatives that would bring Tennessee in compliance with the federal act.
"Some people are concerned that it ruins the teenager's privacy and could ruin their life and that they can be rehabilitated, but I disagree with that," Rep. Maggart said. "The victim's life is ruined, and I think parents have a right to know if they are living near or they are around a teenager that's been convicted of an adult violent sex crime."
Today, Ms. Lightsey's son still has a few nightmares, but he sleeps through the night and realizes the experience wasn't his fault, she said. He even tells his mom he wants her to promote her cause so others aren't hurt like him.
"He might be 6, but he's a pretty strong little dude," she said.
Hold on there...Ms. Lightsey's son was "raped" by a 15 year old who, we must assume, was a first offender, (or at least this was the first time he was actually reported.) So how would this new law, had it been in place, protect Ms. Lightsey's son from this young sex offender?
Unfortunately, as is the case with all this feel-good legislation, this law would have done absolutely nothing to protect anyone and is merely created to further the careers of do-nothing politicians at the expense of lives which could be repaired.
I have no doubt that Tennessee will err on the side of more money siphoned from the pockets of working American's to feed the unsustainable appetite Leviathan. This money will NOT go toward rehabilitation or prevention but will instead be used to buy more tazers, more pepper-spray, more guns, more jails to ensnare and imprison more citizens; None of these millions will prevent one single crime.
It's way beyond time for American's to stop allowing government to rule our lives because we're too lazy to rule our own lives! These politicians are supposed to work for us. We need to set our Wii's aside and govern ourselves and send these redistributionists packing.
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